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Pastor Maldonado has once again dismissed persistent speculation he might move from struggling Williams to Lotus for the 2014 Formula One season.

It has been rumored the Venezuelan, whose major backers PDVSA have sponsored Williams since his F1 debut in 2011, is a leading contender to replace Kimi Räikkönen should the Räikkönen move to Red Bull next year.

Speed Week quoted the 28-year-old Maldonado as initially dismissing the speculation on Thursday, insisting, "I have other problems to think about than next year. We need to be competitive again, and that's all that matters right now."

Speed Week claims there are two details that speak against a move to the more-competitive Lotus for Maldonado.

The first is that the PDVSA deal is actually between the Venezuelan oil giant and Williams, rather than between Maldonado and PDVSA. And the second hurdle is that Lotus is substantially backed by Total, a French oil company that would not share space on the 2014 livery with PDVSA.